Description: When Zsa Zsa failed to take down Lotus, the monster expected an easy escape. Instead, it was a relentless game of cat and mouse between the Raven Guard and Lotus. When the chase brings no fruit, however, the monster hunting mercenaries corner the creature to make a desperate effort to catch her.

[BELA]Three days.

It was three days since Zsa Zsa lured out Lotus. She didn't bag the monster; she was good, but not that good. But she get her threads in the creature, and Bela saw with her eyes to confirm. That was the monster. That was the creature. That was three days ago, where Szabolc had a single squard (a term used to describe a team of 6 Raven Guardsmen) tracking them. They had a trail. The quarry was sufficiently weakened. And they have a documented behavior pattern.

And after those three days, they had nothing.

Szabolc was furious. The Patriarch was annoyed. And the guardsmen looked like buffoons. They drove her to the boardwalk, where over the three days, they had been unsuccessful in pinning down the wily creature. Snares were broken. What was worse now? After only three days, the quarry was beginning to fight back. One Guardsmen was knifed when an ambush was neatly reversed. Another had to withdraw from the Squard due to a nasty bite going septic. They drew in a second Squard from the Pacific High garrison now. Two teams was expensive, for all the other operations the Raven Guard needed in the city. But the Patriarch made it clear what the top priority was.

And it was going to be here at the 'Gilded Tomatoes'

The Italian Restaurant was a four star savory delight, bringing in a beautiful seaside view to accent a vast Mediterranean menu. It was closed, like everything else. But also, unlike the other buildings on the boardwalk, it was standalone... and out on a harbor. A bottleneck. Lotus had slipped away from the jewelry shoppes, and managed to get there. There was only one way out, and that was the sea. It was a dark. Night time was when the monster was most dangerous. But it was also when it was most aggressive. Szabolc made it clear: they had to force a fight now. She was going to be nearly full strength, and once she was there, she was going to risk the sea.

And then, she was gone for good.

There were ten in total; each of the Raven Guardsmen were clad in their raven gasmasks, teal and dark red bodysuits with feather-like scale armor, and clawed boots and gauntlets. They were moving silently, radios tied in their earpieces as they begin to push into the Gilded Tomatoes. Two were on reserve, making their post outside the restaurant with rifles trained from the outside. Two were coming in through the back towards the kitchens, armed with their SKS carbines out. Two were breaking through on the rooftops, using their claws to climb up silently. Two were pushing into the exterior dining facility; the cafe tables and chairs up by the harbor. And the last two? Pushing through the front entrances; picking the lock and slipping through to the front entrance. Cheap night vision goggles over the masks can just bring out the green outlines as a filter. It wasn't the good stuff. But stealthily, they pairs begin to slip through. Lotus had evaded them all once before.

They were'nt going to let her get away this time.

[LOTUS]If Lotus was aware of all the trouble being had in tracking her, it would amuse her immensely. Then again, the hunters are chasing something of a hunter herself! That being said, she is completely aware of what they are doing.

She knows it's a bottleneck as much as they do, and has been planning to turn their own trap against them!

She positioned herself on the roof from the start, watching them approach in the dark. Unlike them, she has no need of technology to see in the dark. Noting where they go, and their numbers, she then spys the pair approach the roof access, and hides in the shadows behind an air conditioning unit.

As they work on opening the roof access, she watches like a hawk, and the moment the latch clicks and starts to open, she makes her move!

Without a sound, she races towards them, a knife burying itself in the back, between the ribs and into the lung, of the nearest! While he lurches backwards, the breath leaving him from pain and with little noise, she stabs the second in the front as he turns to see what has happened with the same results.

With both men now finding it difficult to breath and stunned momentarily, she pulls out her weapons, grabs them by the latches of their gear, and leaps back, pulling them along before LURCHING sideways and sending them both careening over the edge of the room! She watches with an insidious smile as they fall, smile widening once they land before turning and leaping in through the roof hatch and entering the building!

The game is afoot!

[BELA]It's a silent dispatch.

The guardsman's partner doesn't even notice when Lotus is on them; he was busy scanning the roof of all things. He chatters back, in a hushed voice. There is zero response, as there is a hiss in his ear. He turns towards her partner, claws out. But it's too late. A front slash comes, and the duo end up dropping in a tumble off the roof. A tumble that may very well save their lives. Because you could see everything on the rooftops. The snipers from the rooftops weren't just sniping. There was spotting. They watch as two drop, as Lotus comes diving down into the roof... to the area below.

And there is a chattering in an alien tongue.

When Lotus descends, there is a snarling in that strange chittering language as Lotus drops down in the hatch. The two in the front had pushed into the main dining area, scanning. They see movement in the upper level, and risk it. Immediately, there is the report of rifle fire; two rounds tear through the air. One buries into a cushioned chair, sending fluff and wood splintering. Another hits a vase, shattering it. Neither are close enough to Lotus to be a danger, but it's something that Lotus would be -very- familiar with at this point. Warning shots. Not for Lotus. But the for the rest of the squards. The cafe team looks inside, leveling their rifles. And the kitchen crew? Was already tumbling and leaping over the cooking tables to get to the center room. They had to corner her. But with her on the upper floors, they needed her down, or them to be up. It was a bad start to lose two out the gate.

[LOTUS]he smart thing to do would be to stay up top. A running fight. Pull them away from one another, and try to dispatch them one at a time.

Lotus does none of this.

Instead, she deems it much more fun to simply LEAP off the balcony to the ground floor into furthe potential gunfire, weapons out as she tries to stab the two with the gravity of her landing to add extra oomph, completely heedless of her own wellbeing!

But her chaotic, unpredictable tactics have only served in her favor, not against it. After the blast of rifle fire comes, the monster descends, knives out. Slamming down hard, one of the guardsmen is forced to bring their rifle across, using it as a shield to deflect the slash for -both- of them. In exchange, she takes a nasty slice across her shoulder, the woman grunting in pain as it slips past the brigantine feathers of her body suit. Her partner, snapping out in his hostile tongue, shoulders his rifle as he tumbles away under a table. His counterpart, wounded, vaults backwards into a leap, rolling through the air as she leaps on top of the same table. Acrobats, in a sense. But they were making clear as the other four arrive.

Rifles trained on the monster in the open.

Lotus would be more than familiar with the guns now. The two from the kitchen take cover behind a kicked over table, letting loose careful, semi-automatic fire. Perpendictular, coming at the long windows on the first floor, were the outdoor pair, taking aim and giving the same sustained fire. With the pair out of the way, the goal was clear. Hit the monster. Wound her.

[LOTUS]For the gunmen, it would look like something out of The Matrix or Resident Evil. Lotus bends, twists, and sidesteps the bullets in sudden blurs of inhuman speed without even seeming to break a sweat, the bullets missing by inches or less! When she estimates herself to be close enough to the pair behind the table, she LEAPS forwards intending to shove her daggers into the gaps of the womans armor, preferably into the small gaps near the collarbones followed by a twist of said weapons!

As she scrambles over the table, avoiding the rifle fire... so does the monster. By the time she clears the table, she suddenly finds a knife at her collarbone. Taking a graze in one, Lotus almost gets the second deep in to the collarbone... until her partner comes out from under the table, his feet up in the air. And there, catching the slashed guardswoman own feet to his, he footstool launches her up in the air, away from Lotus's harrying attack. She lands on the upper level, grabbing her shoulder and catching her breath. The kitchen pair does a slow roll up, going from table to table, to try and close the gap. But the lone man next to Lotus tumbles backwards into a stand, claws out as he dyanamically poses.

To allow the cafe team to come in.

The duo comes in, rifles over shoulders as they leap and bound. There isn't a lot of time, and with the lone guardsmen in close quarters with the monster, it was precious seconds. But the acrobat suddenly lunges at Lotus. Not with a claw, but an elbow. Attempting to slam an elbow into her, he would then roll away, letting the first of the outside team leap in with a flying elbow as well. That would leave the second, the bigger of the two, to body Lotus and slam her into a table with a full-forced takedown.

[LOTUS]As usual, Lotus does what may be the least expect thing they would expect.....

She rushes INTO the attack!

With another blur she zips under the elbow. Unexpecting the second elbow, she leeeeeeans to the side, the strike clipping the side of her cheek and leaving a large red mark from the impact! Stumbling a bit for a moment, she sees the last, big guy coming at her, and LEAPS straight up! With an arc in the air, she goes over the mans head, slashing with a knife at his face to distract and slashing several more times at his back and head from behind as she lands on the other side of his large form, using his body otherwise as cover from further gunfire for the moment!

The first two elbows come, with the intention of stunning. But when she rushes into the attack, it's clear there -was- no stunning at all. When the big guy comes thundering in, Lotus's easy arc gives him a swift slash to the gas mask; the mask tears open, as his beard is exposed. The other two balance out, scrambling in a circle as they jump up to the second floor. Jaw slack, he stumbles back, muttering something. But there is only one follow up slash from Lotus.
%Cause the kitchen crew comes in.

One hurls out a staggering two-legged drop kick, knocking it straight into Lotus's gut. That gives the big guy a chance to not become hamburger. The second one, however, rolls right in, and starts outright kicking Lotus in the head, over and over. He is yelling in that strange squawking tongue, his contempt and fury pouring out as he kicks again and again. It gives the drop-kicker a chance to rise up... but his anger only comes to an end as he finally spits out some words in English from behind his mask.

"That's for my brother, cat-eyed bitch!"

[LOTUS]Blood seeps form between Lotuses teeth and bruises are clear on her skin as the beating occurs, but her grin never wanes. If anything it gets larger as she stares up at the man who spoke "Guess you'll be birds of a feather when i GUT you!". She uses his momentary pause to spit at him, but what comes out isn't saliva!

It's a large cloud of greenish gas, acidic and venomous in nature, the kind that can eat through and enter into the filters of the masks they are wearing! It fills the small area where the group currently are around her, giving her some space enough to stand and regain her bearings.

The word comes out from the kicker's partner, the drop kick guard. Right as Lotus begins to spit, the partner goes for a take down, pulling the one called Lukacs away into a tumbling escape. The pair rolls clear of the toxic miasma, the venom clinging to their suits, eating away the armor lightly. The air around her gets cleared by the big man too, Lotus very well having a moment of respite.

Until the trio comes down from above.

The duo, having gone up top, quickly found their sister recovering. A little pep talk, and a quick smear of greasy solution keeps the wound from bleeding out. And now, in the midst of the cloud, three guards come descending down. Each one would aim to land a staggering goomba stomp right on Lotus's head, before rebounding back up to the second floor. One. Two. Three. And if they miss? Well, they'd take their chances to tumble through the cloud, low. Bouncing up in the air, rolling on the ground.

[LOTUS]The three dropping in with kicks meet only air as Lotos shifts quickly, her body bending to evade the strikes! Even more impressive is that she doesn't use her legs to move or change position, simply with blindingly fast and precise torso movement!

As the skip back and away, she stares them all down. It's all of them lined up before her, and her standing alone facing them. She grins savagely as she licks away the blood on one of her knives "Oh, whatever shall i do! The big bad gunmen have me cornered! I'm so SCARED!"

As she says 'scared' she LUNGES forwards at inhuman speed, closing the gap faster than the blink of an eye aiming for right in the middle of the line! She makes a pair of very broad slashes, one left and one right, aiming to give a mean slice through several of them at once!

It was precisely that speed which was giving them so much trouble over the last three days. As the trio misses the monster, and make their break away, Lotus is on the two men. The woman manages to steer clear, but the duo... gets eviscerated before they can take cover behind the tables. Slashed open, they make their feeble moans as they collapse away. There is a squawking amongst the men.

As the big guy charges in.

Hurling in with vaulting front flip, the big guy descends with both claws, unleashing a rending downward slash. Behind him, Lukacs comes in with a pair of follow up swipes, each one attempting to chase Lotus back away from the two downed guardsmen. The third comes leaping from table to table in a semi-circle.

[LOTUS]Lotus throws up an arm, just one being enough to stop the big guys strike cold. She places the block near his wrists, stopping the claws before they strike her, though the impact causes some light bruising. She leaps sideways as Lukacs comes from the side, evading his swipes. She notices a pattern here..... and abruptly says "VEEEEEEERY interesting.....".

She gives a quick snap kick to Lukacs knee, not enough to do damage, just to destabilize his stance long enough to leap past him, aiming for th soldier running on the tables.

"SOMEone has a crush, it seems! HOW ADORABLE!". She attempts to grab him in mid-air, and flip him over before planting her feet and kicking off to send him into the floor.

There is squawking from him, as Lotus breaks away. The guardsman just reaches the low lady, the woman standing out. There is a shout, as suddenly... the man is hurled through the window, knocked outside. Chattering breaks out in earpieces; as the remaining three standing straight to notice how the battle is going. The girl looks straight at Lotus, claws out. She gives a nod.

And she leaps in.

Coming in high at first, she breaks into a tumble. From behind, the big guy is on Lotus, and tries to unleash a rising claw to knock Lotus up, indigo energy surging up with the slash. Whether he succeeds or not, Lukacs comes slashing in with an aerial claw, in tandem for the woman to rise up with her own claw by. The big guy would launch off with a final claw by, allowing Lukacs to make his final claw by, and finally, the woman comes in with a final aerial charge, to try and seize Lotus. She would finish the assault by twisting upside down, to execute a skull-crushing piledriver through a table.

[LOTUS]The nod is all the clue Lotus needs. As the big guy comes in, she steps in, sidestepping the swipe "Too slow!". With a slash of her knife she tries to cut the binds of the mask, and then leaps away, tring to pull it with her!

As Lukacs comes in, she leaps to meet him, manuevering around his attacks, and repeating the same step of swiping at the straps to remove his mask and pull as she leaps off him once again.....

Right towards the lass coming in from above! She twists impossibly in the air, landing upside down against her, and once more attempting to demask her before leaping up and off her, letting her fall targetless the rest of the way!

Landing across the room from them, Lotus reaches behind her back and grabs a trio of small, long stilettos that taper to very fine almost needle-like points. Not likely to kill, at least initally, but they WOULD hurt and bleed a lot! She then abruptly swings her arm around, sending one at the face of each of them, demasked or otherwise!

And it wasn't enough. At best, other than giving her exercise, the three remaining squardsmen had their masks cut out, their faces exposed. The two men both were ruddy cheeked and sported thin black mustaches, while the line woman held black hair and sharp, elegant facial features. That would swiftly change as she finishes her fall alone. As the trio rise up, they are all looking at Lotus.

And are greeted by a knife apiece.

The big man takes it in the eye; He drops, howling as he clutches his face. The woman is luckier; she takes it through the cheek, falling over as the blood comes out. Lukacs is luckiest of all; he takes it through both cheeks, turning his head in time to get himself a Glasgow grin. The two others fall, but Lukacs draws the knife out. He rattles something to himself. Lotus could hear two shots of a rifle. And then, a pulse of something, or someone. Lukacs stares down at Lotus, throwing the knife to the ground. He scowls, turning up his nose in a sneer, showing off a gold tooth.

"Just you and me now."

He wiggles his claws, swaying his arms side to side as he takes a low stance. "You poisoned him, you know? Moricz. You bit him like the animal you are. Szabolc is coming. He wants you alive." Lukacs forces a laugh, blood running down his chin.

"But you can take a lot, yeah?"

Lukacs leaps up high, up to the edge of the upper level. Flipping his feet up on it, he pushes off, rocketing back down at Lotus with a full body spiral slash, trying to drag her down. Whether he hit or not, he would break into a full tumble, rolling away as he does. The same acrobatic offense as before.

[LOTUS]An insidious chuckle, which turns into something of a giggle, comes from Lotus as she stares the last standing soldier down "Aaww..... jealous he got a kiss and YOU didn't? How sweet.....".

Then the guy hoists himself up, and leaps at her!

Watching him closely, she waits until the last minute to try to flip back and away! The concealed knives in her shoes, envenomed with whatever unknown substance she draws upon coating their edges, slip out and slash at him as he comes at her!

However, in his zeal, and her overconfidence, her timing is off, and he careens into her, sending her tumbling to the floor with an "OOF!", stunning her for the moment as the wind is knocked out of her, evoking coughing laughter regardless.

[BELA]"Damnable slut!"

The hot-blooded Hungarian smashes through, not falling for the boot knife again. He well remembered that blasted thing. As he brings down the monster, he breaks into a tumble, rolling hard as he eases up. He looks to the big man. "Istvan!" He exclaims, as the big man moans. Turning back to the coughing Lotus, he snarls, tumbling forward. "Stay down you mincing creature!" He snarls, as he attempts to catch Lotus in the roll and tumble her straight through the glass, and out in the harbor-side cafe seating outside.

[LOTUS]Lotus lies there, seemingly hindered enough that she won't get out of the way.....

Before suddenly grinning like a cheshire.

At the last minute, as he closes in to attack, she turns sideways to evade the attack connecting! With a quick movement, she slips behind him, and attempts to add to his forwards momentum, to try to throw HIM through said glass and outside!

But as he takes to the air, Lotus slips behind him. And then, when she tries to build his momentum, he grabs on to the rafters, and swings back and around to end up behind Lotus instead! And there, he performs the most intricate of Podiebrad arts.

[LOTUS]..... which swiftly meets nothing but air as Lotus leaps into the air as he kicks!

She basicly does a front flip, but going backwards so he meets her head-on! She grabs on, and snaps her knees to a bent position, hoping to add momentum and pull him to the ground head first in a makeshift piledriver!

The last remaining Raven Guardsman successfully demonstrating the defensive tenacity of the rank and file Guardsman. As she goes for the pile driver, he goes -down-. Rolling under her front flip, Lukacs slips under her grips and rises up. There, he would great her with two rapid claw swipes, before finishing with a gauntlet paaaaunch!

[LOTUS]With two quick blurs, both punches whiff past Lotus, as she ducks under the punch!

Closing in, she starts with an upwards stab of a knife in an attempt to make him flinch, before the second knife comes around for a solid hit. This is followed by blurs of speed as she stabs with rapid speed, aiming for weak and/or exposed areas of his body!

For her part, Lotus is LOVING having an opponent that is actually keeping up with her speed-wise! It's like chess..... but stabbier!

His defenses up, the fighter deflects the fake out with his gauntlet harmlessly, letting the other gauntlet come up to deflect the second. The blurs of speed, however, cut and pierce bit by bit, with only his armor managing to mitigate some of the slices. Armor that Lotus now had pretty good knowledge on where the weaknesses are in the bodysuit. Lukacs grits his teeth as he waits for a break in the slashing, and makes his move: the guardsman unleashes a knee, which chains into an axel kick, starting high and ending low. The assault ends as he spins, as he chains into a third kick on the pirouette.

[LOTUS]Lotus' hands drop in a block, her crossed wrists absorbing the knee, her arms almost buckeling with the shock of the impact but manage to hold. She leans out of the way of the axel kick, and her cupped hands absorb the blow from the finishing kick! She is knocked back by the force of the strike, feet sliding noisily along the fancy carpeted floor in long skids "So you've been holding out on me! How rude of you! Granted, your not as fun as that lady in the funhouse, but your still making me try". As she speaks, it is quite clear many of her injuries and hits taken have mended, or are starting to do so.

Renewing her assault, Lotus fires off a pair of leaping snap kicks, one leg followed by the other, followed by a punch aimed juuuust to the side of his face. As she carries through the strike, hoping to fake him into a block, once close she goes for a grab of one of his arms, quickly switching to an overhead shoulder throw!

His endless barrage of attacks, his blood loss, his building wounds. The normal squard attacks in cycles for the very reason of keeping constant pressure, while circulating the team carefully. When Lotus taunts him, however, he doesn't even eat it up. He was breathing hard and heavy. And when she goes for the snap kicks, he manages to deflect and weave the initial attacks. As the punch comes out, he goes for the parry... which fall into her trap, as he is lifted and heaved over, slammed right out the window to the deck outside. He lands in a tumble.

And he reverses.

Anticipating Lotus to be descending on him, Lukacs rises into a front flip. There, he would greet Lotus with a heel drop on her head, which then he would use to leap into the air for a finishing shoulder slam, to spike Lotus straight down into the boards of the deck. He was clinging to the edge of his spirit, in order to press himself out to fight.

[LOTUS]He's right....... he IS slowing down! All according to plan.....

Lotus DOES persue, but not as close as expected. When the heel drop comes, she is standing just out of range, the blow coming so close the air currents it generates make her hair blow and wave. When he leaps, she does as well, meeting him in the air! A single flash of steel meets his attack, and both part in opposite directions as they pass, with a single splash of blood filling the void.

Moments later, both land at almost the same time....... As Lotus turns to face this suprisingly worthy opponent, a deep dark black eye now adorns her twistedly-grinning face......

[BELA]And Lukacs is doubled over, on his knees.

That was a cut. Right on his abdomen; his bodysuit was keeping his vitals together inside him, but that was a piercing cut. He moves slow, staggering. Turning around, holding his gut, he gives a ragged breath, an indigo light blazing in his eyes. ANd there, he releases his fresh cut. It was staying in. He staggers towards Lotus, hands up. No tumbles now, no rolls.

Two clawed hands would be there to grab her face.

There, he would force a clinch, and just try and slam his knee into Lotus's gut, again, and again, and again. A brutal, desperate barrage of battery. He would try and drag Lotus to the ground, when the knee slams would stun her long enough. And should he manage to get that far? He would finish the assault with a final double slash of claws.

[LOTUS]Once she sees Lukacs stand and start to stagger towards her, she can tell...... she has seen that stagger before from countless people.

That last ditch, final effort to hold on. To go down fighting. To make some lasting mark before succumbing. She watches, savoring the sight! It's how she remembers her playthings. It would be a huge injustice to NOT remember them, after all! That sweet sweet memory of their agony near the end....

When he finally reaches her to grab her face, he finds her savage near-cheshire grin staring at him, her guard completely down as he does so! Her wirey form is rocked by the series of knee strikes. Blood runs from her mouth in a gush as he finishes, a manic giggle mixed in with the grunts of pain. She slowly looks up as his duel-slash comes, head rocked back by the deep cuts made in her cheeks just below the eyes, exposing bone and nearly taking her cheeks off entirely!

Then, he hits that limit, and falls as his energy is spent. For a moment or two, she remainds there, on the ground, staring up at the darkened sky, bleeding profusely as she laughs long and loud. Madness, pain, and whatever is in between overwhelming her demented mind.

Slowly, deliberately, she finally stands. Much of her prior injuries have already healed, and even now she can feel the damage slowly but surely mending from this latest, last assault. She takes a few tepid steps towards his prone form "Such a delicious final attempt..... i'll remember you for a LONG time! Since you were so jealous of your bother getting a kiss......". Kneeling down, she takes one of his arms where some of the skin is exposed, and bites deep into the flesh! It's a dry bite, her usual venom withheld. Less to do damage, and more to make sure it leaves a long-lasting mark! "Now you and your brother match. A memento to remember me by!"

[BELA]Lukacs was not moving.

As the final attack comes, he is helpless. In a way, he lacked the skill of Zsa Zsa. But when Lotus rises again... there is absolute fear. Where were the spotters. He was trembling, as Lotus approaches. And then... then she offers the kiss. To his horror, he saw a twisted reflection of the Mistress of the Halls. And when the bite comes, he howls in pain. He could feel it, he could feel the venom burn. I mean, there was no actual venom. But despite the dry bite, he was writhing, moaning in agony. There is the stench of urine; it seems that not everyone can keep their dignity in the face of Lotus.

There is movement.

It moves quickly, smashing through the glass of the restaurant. Two figures are standing inside; but they were not focused on Lotus. No, the smash comes from the man in the teal cloak; he is a silver-haired man in his late middle ages. He body is narrow and fit, his shoulders broad, and stands at a clean two meters tall. He is garbed in the commanders garb of the Raven Guard, a teal-blue armored coat covering his whole body, all the way to his heeled boots of gold and steel straps. His arms are peppered in scaled plate, the feathered motif typical of Raven Guardsmen. His legs are similarly armored, though only the faintest hints of this can been seen with the longcoat in place. A singular black tie hangs from his neck, with the white collared shirt giving a formal air to his armor. A massive cloak, studded with gold buttons, carries around him, the exterior silver white, while the interior is rich crimson. His face is lean and narrow, with a long chin, high cheekbones, and cold blue-steel eyes. A silver mustache garbs over his red lips; he is in snarl, as he growls at the creature, his cast broadsword pointing at the monster.

"It ends here, now."

[LOTUS]Lotus' gaze flits from Lukacs to this newcomer. Her head cocks to one side as she takes in all his features "Oooohhhh.... Looks like someone closer to the top finally decided to make an appearance in this puppet show!". Even now her wounds can be seen visibly healing, the massive bleeding slowing..... "So to what do i owe the 'honor' of this gangbang? Hhhhhhhmmmmmmmmm?". Her tone is whimsical "Come to stop me from making more KFC of your pretty little......" she eyes Lukacs a moment, then looks back ".... frieeeeeeends?".

[BELA]If there was an elemental opposite of Zsa Zsa, it was Szabolc.

Lotus's cutsy response is met by the commander surging in. Lukacs gives a gurgle, while the steel-blue eyes of Szabolc's gaze is all he gives Lotus. Swinging his sword, it seems to almost liquefy in his hands, taking an amorphous shape as he makes a trio of slashes at Lotus. Each swipe seems to change the shape of the sword; the first was curved like a scimitar, the second long and hooked to catch her knife. The final slash comes with it wide and thick like a gladius; an indigo light running through the blade. He was fast, at full health, and furious. And worst of all, he wasn't playing along with her coy dialogue. Basically?

He was not fun.

[LOTUS]A split second is all the time Lotus has to take this in and attempt a response!

The first swipe takes her almost completely off guard. The scimitar-shaped edge cutting a shallow line as she attempts to hop backwards, blood running though not managing to disembowel her. The second takes her hand clean off, dagger held tightly as it flies off in a random direction! The third is the only she manages to fully evade, leaning back inhumanly with the stab going juuuuuuust over her, the blade centimeters from her skin!

Even with her injuries, she manages to scramble out from beneath it and take off, heading towards a wall off of which she leaps up to a rooftop and vanish into the darkness, leaving a trail of blood for quite some time before her healing seals the injuries

[BELA]Szabolc's fury was not satisfied.

As he dismembers Lotus, he was preparing the coup de grace. But his arrival came at a cost. One that was all too obvious when Lotus tried her escape: With Szabolc and his two men in reserve, she would have stumbled into their trap, and she would be caught. But by intervening, to save his men... Lotus had her escape route. And before Szabolc steel-cold glare? She slipped away, gone.

And the price of the failure was all around him.

He comes to Lukacs's side, prepared for the worst. But as the whimpering soldier gives his breaths, hope glimmers. This cost him two Squards. They could take weeks to recover. It was an absolute disaster. If Aurel was still leading, they would have let Lotus go. It was not worth the human cost, he would have decided. But no. The current Patriarch made his command. And now, Szabolc would bear the burden of it. Rising up from Lukacs's side, he raises his palm, facing into the shadows where Lotus escaped. He holds his sword to his palm, cutting it open. "I swear an oath by the Patriarch. I will hunt you down foul creature, to avenge my soldiers, my brothers and sisters. I will find you. And may my orders be damned." He clenches his palm into a bloodied fist.

"I will kill you where you stand."

Log created on 13:04:16 04/28/2020 by Duke, and last modified on 20:51:47 04/29/2020.